On a Marinacci uniqueness theorem for measures

We prove a uniqueness theorem for measures on D-posets.     

Dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans in human breast milk collected in the area of Taranto (Southern Italy): first case study

We report on the content of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) in 15 breast milk samples of nursing women living in the city of Taranto (Southern, Italy) or nearby. Breast milk samples were collected over the 2008–2009 period and analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (GC-HRMS) upon accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) using acetone/n-hexane mixture 1:1 (v/v). The method was validated demonstrating good performing features. Profiles of PCDD/PCDF congeners in breast milk samples exhibited a prevalence of PCDFs compared to PCDDs. Toxic equivalents (TEQs in picogram per gram fat) of four breast milk were far above the legal limit for human consumption of 3.0 pg/g; their estimated daily and weekly dietary intake were almost 5–20 and 10–40 times higher, respectively, than the tolerable intake values established by the World Health Organization.

Phase behavior of weakly polydisperse sticky hard spheres: perturbation theory for the Percus-Yevick solution

We study the effects of size polydispersity on the gas-liquid phase behavior of mixtures of sticky hard spheres. To achieve this, the system of coupled quadratic equations for the contact values of the partial cavity functions of the Percus-Yevick solution [R. J. Baxter, J. Chem. Phys. 49, 2770 (1968)] is solved within a perturbation expansion in the polydispersity, i.e., the normalized width of the size distribution. This allows us to make predictions for various thermodynamic quantities which can be tested against numerical simulations and experiments. In particular, we determine the leading order effects of size polydispersity on the cloud curve delimiting the region of two-phase coexistence and on the associated shadow curve; we also study the extent of size fractionation between the coexisting phases. Different choices for the size dependence of the adhesion strengths are examined carefully; the Asakura-Oosawa model [J. Chem. Phys. 22, 1255 (1954)] of a mixture of polydisperse colloids and small polymers is studied as a specific example.     

Linear and non-linear interactions between static and dynamic bifurcations of damped planar beams

The critical and post-critical behavior of a non-conservative non-linear structure, undergoing statical and dynamical bifurcations, is analyzed. The system consists of a purely flexible planar beam, equipped with a lumped visco-elastic device, loaded by a follower force. A unique integro-differential equation of motion in the transversal displacement, with relevant boundary conditions, is derived. Then, the linear stability diagram of the trivial rectilinear configuration is built-up in the parameter space. Particular emphasis is given to the role of the damping on the critical scenario. The occurrence of different mechanisms of instability is highlighted, namely, of divergence, Hopf, double zero, resonant and non-resonant double Hopf, and divergence-Hopf bifurcation. Attention is then focused on the two latter (codimension-two) bifurcations. A multiple scale analysis is carried-out directly on the continuous model, and the relevant non-linear bifurcation equations in the amplitudes of the two interactive modes are derived. The fixed-points of these equations are numerically evaluated as functions of two bifurcation parameters and some equilibrium paths illustrated. Finally, the bifurcation diagrams, illustrating the system behavior around the critical points of the parameter space, are obtained.     

Convenient ‘one-pot’ synthesis of 3,4-substituted tetrahydrothiophenes through tandem Michael-Henry and Michael-Michael reactions

In situ generated nitro alkenes underwent tandem Michael-Henry and Michael-Michael sequences leading to the ‘one-pot’ formation of 3,4-substituted tetrahydrothiophenes using the commercially available 1,4-dithiane-2,5-diol (the dimer of mercaptoacetaldehyde) or its 4-mercapto-2-butenoates derivatives as suitable bifunctional partners, respectively.     

On a unifying approach to decomposition theorems of Yosida-Hewitt type

In this paper we deal with a very general form of the Yosida-Hewitt theorem on the decomposition of measures into countably additive («normal») and purely finitely additive («antinormal») parts. It expands a previous one by the authors with the aim of joining two different standpoints to the Yosida-Hewitt type theorems. The first goes back to the original publication defining the «antinormal» part as a certain disjoint complement to the «normal» one. The second approach goes deeper and characterizes this disjoint complement intrinsically i.e. as a measure, functional or operator which is equal to zero on a huge set. These two points of view are common for the publications connected, respectively, with measure theory and, theory of vector lattices; the second allows important applications. The unification of these approaches gives an opportunity to derive new information in the case of vector measures. We have taken the opportunity of this paper also to furnish a survey of the topic.     

Novel ethylene/norbornene copolymers as nonreleasing antioxidants for food‐contact polyolefinic materials

An efficient procedure for the copolymerization of ethylene (E) with a novel norbornenic comonomer (N_ArOH) bearing a stabilizing moiety analogous to commercial antioxidant 2,6‐di‐tert‐butyl‐4‐methylphenol (BHT) is successfully developed. This study is aimed at: i) tuning the concentration of the stabilizing function along the polymer chain, and ii) preparing “nonreleasing” polymeric additives specifically destined to protect commercial low‐density polyethylene (LDPE). Films obtained from blends of the novel E/N_ArOH copolymers with an antioxidant‐free LDPE matrix are characterized by superior thermal, thermo‐oxidative, and photostability when compared not only with neat LDPE films but also with films stabilized by the commercial BHT additive. Specific migration tests conducted in order to investigate the nonreleasing character of the novel macromolecular additives confirm the reduced risk of migration, from the films into food simulants, of unreacted comonomer or degradation products bearing the antioxidant moiety. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2013 , 51, 1007–1016     

Determination of selected endocrine disrupting compounds in human fetal and newborn tissues by GC-MS

Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) include organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), organophosphate pesticides (OPPs), carbamate pesticides, and plasticizers, such as bisphenol A (BPA). They persist in the environment because of their degradation resistance and bioaccumulate in the body tissues of humans and other mammals. Many studies are focused on the possible correlation between in utero exposure to EDCs and adverse health hazards in fetuses and newborns. In the last decade, environmental pollution has been considered a possible trigger for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and Sudden Intrauterine Unexplained Death Syndrome (SIUDS), the most important death-causing syndromes in fetuses and newborns in developed countries. In this work, a rapid and sensitive analytical method was developed to determine the level of OCPs and OPPs, carbamates, and phenols in human fetal and newborn tissues (liver and brain) and to unveil the possible presence of non-targeted compounds. The target analytes where selected on the basis of their documented presence in the Trentino-Alto Adige region, an intensive agricultural area in northern Italy. A liquid-solid extraction procedure was applied on human and animal tissues and the extracts, after a solid phase extraction (SPE) clean-up procedure, were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled to a quadrupole mass spectrometric detector (GC-qMS). A GC-TOFMS (time-of-flight) instrument, because of its higher full-scan sensitivity, was used for a parallel detection of non-targeted compounds. Method validation included accuracy, precision, detection, and quantification limits (LODs; LOQs), and linearity response using swine liver and lamb brain spiked at different concentrations in the range of 0.4–8000.0 ng/g. The method gave good repeatability and extraction efficiency. Method LOQs ranged from 0.4–4.0 ng/g in the selected matrices. Good linearity was obtained over four orders of magnitude starting from LOQs. Isotopically labeled internal standards were used for quantitative calculations. The method was then successfully applied to the analysis of liver and brain tissues from SIUDS and SIDS victims coming from the above mentioned region.